Monday, March 5, 2012

Bootleg Larva Mothra by unknown maker

Mothra has been one of Godzilla's most
prolific “friend-emies” over the last 4 decades. Appearing in
over 15 movies, we've been bombarded with several incarnations of
Mothra over the years. We've had Mothra in her egg, larva stage,
cocooned and the ever important final stage (hint, it looks like a
moth). Always by her side are the twin tiny high priestesses, called
the shōbijin (or small beauties), that translate and interpret the monster's every
thought. When Mothra appears it's usually to be the savior of Earth;
often doing battle with Godzilla, Battra, King Ghidorah, Death
Ghidorah, Gigan, Dagahra, Monster X and the Sea Monster.

(who is Mothra? Why are we playing such suspenseful music? You'll have to watch this 3 minute trailer to find out!)

(sing little ladies, sing!)

This piece was acquired through Planet
Retro Gallery out of St Pete, Florida. I was nothing but impressed
with the selection and prices at the store, as well as the owner's
knowledge. He admitted it was a bootleg he picked up in Chinatown in
the late 90's and had sold all but this one and couldn't guarantee
that it worked or not. I love a restoration challenge, and even if it
never works it's still a heck of a shelf piece for a portion of the
price of the original. You just rarely get that sort of honesty from
a collectibles shop. It's a factor that keeps me coming back for his
monthly sales.

(adult toy or sofubi?)

(ribbed for your pleasure)

The rubber used for the skin of Larva
Mothra is very similar to the original release from Bandai, the only
different thing is the color. The bootleg is a very light green with
white slopped across to bring out the texture while the original is a
light bronze with silver and black accents along the body. After some
slight tinkering and cleaning, I was able to restore the mechanical
crawling function. From a restoration point of view, the components I
worked on were of a lower quality than I would expect to be in the
Bandai version. With two AA batteries, the bug “crawls” along
with the aide of a wheel underneath while rearing his head back and
lighting up it's red eyes. A real achievement for my collection and
my restoration skills.